Read Online The Haunted Bones by PM Weldon - Free Book Online

have been shot in the head in the line of duty. And
you survived. Don't think for one second that kind of experience
isn't going to leave scars you won't ever get over. Understand? You
passed out. Your mind took over and took you out of danger.
Brenner's a fine cop and a strong woman."
    A young man in a long coat stepped out of
the curtain. "Ah, Captain Vale."
    "Dr. Longmire. How's Julie Brenner?"
    "She's good. Just a slight fracture to her
left wrist. A couple of bruises and a scraped knee. She'll be with
you shortly." He turned to me. "You should thank her for breaking
your fall." With that he turned and headed back between the
curtains.
    "The guy's an ass but a fine doc." Vale put
a hand on my shoulder and guided me away from the front of triage.
"You have any idea whose diary it was?"
    "Yeah, I do. Anyone dusting behind the
mirror?"
    "CSI is there now, going back over it. And
don't think I didn't get an earful from the director since they
already went over that place nearly two years ago."
    "I think you'll find prints from Birch's
wife, Randall Cahan, and Cahan's daughter."
    "Oh?"
    "I think Birch's wife and Cahan's daughter
were having an affair and Cahan found out. I think he confronted
them and Birch tried to stop him. Check for police reports of
domestic violence for the Cahans. I think he killed all three and
set up Birch to take the fall."
    "You think this diary proves all this?"
    I smirked. "I think it's a better lead in
evidence than ghost pictures."
    Vale actually smiled. "I agree with you.
I'll follow all this up and let you know. But no mention of your
pictures, okay?"
    I agreed. What else was I going to do?
    "Oh," he added as he put his hand on my
shoulder again. "About the wedding—"
    "Oh no. I told Myra no. I mean, Senator
Padeaus is going to be there and I think—"
    Vale locked eyes with me. "Padeaus has
requested you be there. He's good friends with the Chief Of Dees
and since you did help solve his son's murder case, he's asked
personally. The COD agreed. So rent a tux and bring a date and your
camera." He turned and then stopped again. "Oh, and make sure
Brenner gets home."
    "I will." I watched him leave and leaned
against the wall. My shoulder hurt and I fingered the slip of paper
in my pocket, the prescription for painkillers the doc gave me.
Truth was, I had a medicine cabinet full of them. Why add one more
bottle?
    Another twenty minutes went by before Jewels
emerged from the curtains in a wheelchair. Her arm was in a dark
blue sling and her expression was just a little too happy.
Obviously they'd given her a painkiller.
    I checked her out and then
grabbed my car out of the parking lot. I found out Lt. Theodore
Rosenberg, one of the detectives I used to work with, had driven it
from The Alley Haunt to the hospital for me. I texted him a thank you text before I
piled Jewels in and headed toward her house.
    Once inside—I had a key—I
got her to her bedroom where she shut the door in my face so she
could undress. It was the same condo she and Jim had shared before
he died. She never wanted to leave it and she was only a few blocks
from my own home now. I did notice Jim's things were still spread
around amidst boxes I'd brought for her. At least she'd tried to pack him
away.
    I grabbed a beer out of the fridge to dull
the pain and took my bag into the living room. I wasn't going to
leave Jewels alone, not yet. At least not until I knew she was okay
and not so loopy. With my feet on the coffee table, I pulled out my
tablet. It was dead. Luckily Jewels had one just like mine so I
hooked mine up to her power cord and shoved it out of the way under
the couch.
    Her tablet was fully charged so I logged in
under her password and then logged into Pink's new server. I had a
few e-mails, so I checked those first. One was from Pink.
    Hey, I heard you got shot! Again! Give me a
call. Got new security on the server and I pinpointed that hacker
to about a five-hundred-mile radius. Not much, but I do know they
are